Studies of dihydropyridines by X-ray diffraction and solid state 13C NMR

Fourteen dimethyl 4-aryl-2,6-dimethyl- 1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylates (DHPs) were evaluated by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction in order to investigate the effects of the structure in the crystals on the solid state C-13 NMR chemical shifts. These include the analysis of three DHPs containing two molecules per asymmetric unit. The chiral rotamer unit generated by the s-cis/s-trans orientation of the carbonyl groups, as well as by rotation of the 4-phenyl ring out of the bisecting plane containing the N1, C4, C7 atoms, resulted in a significant magnetic non-equivalence for the C2-CH3/C6-CH3 and the COOCH3 pairs of signals. The solid state 13C NMR data reveal that the substitution pattern of the phenyl ring has a marked effect on the extent to which the signals of the carbonyl carbon atoms and those of C-2/C-6 peaks are split.